Crossplay has finally come to Apex Legends, allowing players to squad up with their friends across PC, PS4, and Xbox One in cross-platform multiplayer. The Aftermarket update makes several changes and tweaks to Apex Legends, but crossplay is the most significant addition of them all. Still, players can experience an all-new LTM with today’s update and get their hands on more than 20 new skins as a part of the Aftermarket Collection. It’s worth noting that Apex Legends crossplay is technically still in beta, so you might run into issues. Regardless, it should work fairly well even if you encounter a few hiccups. Here’s how to use crossplay in Apex Legends.
How to Crossplay in Apex Legends
Crossplay is enabled by default on all platforms. To add a friend, go to the friends menu and select “Find Friend.” You’ll be able to search for a username on any platform and send a friend request. Once you’ve added your friends, you can send a game invite to them from the friends menu. Cross-platform party invites will appear as an in-game notification in the lobby.
You’ll be able to tell which platform your friends are playing on by looking at the icon under their name on your friends list. Xbox players have the Xbox logo, PC players have a computer and monitor, and PS4 players have a generic gamepad icon.
Cross-platform parties can use in-game voice chat. You cannot use one system’s party chat functionality with players on another platform. You can’t use PlayStation party chat with friends on PC or Xbox, for example.
Also, crossplay does not mean cross-progression. Your stats and items are stuck on your platform of choice. You can’t just hop between systems and take all your gear with you like you can in Fortnite. Cross-progression will be discussed at a later date, most likely when Apex Legends hits Steam later this year.
How Cross-Platform Matchmaking Works
Before the crossplay update, you would only be matched against other players on your specific platform. Now, things operate a little differently. All console players will now be matched against other console players automatically, meaning PlayStation and Xbox players will be placed in the same matches. PC players will continue to only be matched with other PC players. This divide is to ensure PC players using a keyboard and mouse are not put in the same lobbies as console players with controllers.
However, if a PS4 or Xbox One player parties up with a PC player, they will be placed into PC matches. This ensures that PC players aren’t brought into console lobbies. If anyone in your crossplay party is on PC, your squad will be placed into PC matches.
If you wish to disable crossplay in Apex Legends, you can do so from the game’s settings menu. It’s enabled by default, but you can turn off the Cross-Platform beta if you so choose. This will probably make your queue times incredibly long, however, as most players will likely keep the setting on by default. EA recommends leaving crossplay turned on for the best experience.
